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Barring any last minute hitch, the first modular refinery in Nigeria will become operational by April 2020. It is expected to produce 5,000 per day of refined petroleum products. The groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery was performed on Thursday at the Ibigwe Flow station of Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited.

The project is being partnered by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) with 30 per cent equity and financed by the African Finance Corporation with an 18 month completion period.

Speaking on the occasion, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, expressed the commitment of the board in making sure that the project was completed on schedule.

The Minister of State, (Petroleum), Ibe Kachukwu, reiterated the commitment of the administration to ensuring that the importation of petroleum products was eliminated by repairing the nation’s four refineries before the end of 2019.

He said it would be sad if by the end of 2019, Nigeria was still importing fuel stressing that the policy of the administration was to go back to refining about 20 per cent of crude which will move to 50 per cent in the next five years.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, Abdulrazaq Isa, said that the ground breaking was a milestone for indigenous participation in the country’s downstream sector.